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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Hi ya everyone!
This week at the Tiddly Inks challenge blog we want to see YOUR inner Diva! I am about as far from a Diva as one can imagine - but my soon to be 8yr. old - well she's got that attitude that doesn't stop...so I thought of her when I made this card! Her favorite colors are pink and black together...I've used most of my Echo Park paper that's pink and black so I decided to go out on a limb and make my own. I cut a 4.75 square of white card stock and penciled in the word Diva at the top.

I then outlined it and with a few Tim Holtz inks - worn lipstick and shabby shutters I painted the word. Then I used my cranberry glimmer mist on the whole thing. I dried it with my heat gun and then took some Teresa Collins clear stamp alphabet letters and stamped Diva all over. I then added a swirl pattern from Inkadinkadoo stamp set and accented a few letters and swirls with white gel pen. While this was drying I colored this ADORABLE little Diva called By Royal Decree in my Copics.

I punched some flowers and layered them. I added a number rhinestone for some shine because honestly what's a Diva without a little bling? I also had these little royalty charms that I bought from Michaels a while ago and decided to add those too!

Monday, May 30, 2011

Some Odd Girl is having a challenge where you need to create a scene/background. I decided to use this little sweety hubby got me called Daisy Tia. I colored her with my Copics and fussy cut her out!

I then took a piece of my X-press it paper and created a grassy scene using a pencil and my 0.05 Copic multiliner. I enjoyed creating a scene of my own! I added a flower and the colored each element with my Copics.

Finally, I cut out a few blades of grass and popped them to give my scene some dimension. I also added a "Life is Beautiful" sentiment and inked all edges in Walnut Stain from Tim Holtz. Join in at Some Odd Girl - and don't forget their sneaks week is coming up - so that means NEW adorable images!!!

Hi ya everyone!
The greeting farm is having a challenge for their Farm Fresh Friday challenge in which you have to create a card around your favorite holiday. Well, I wouldn't say I have a favorite honestly - but the idea of Valentine's Day is one I can get on board with. Since meeting my Hubs Valentine's Day has turned into a holiday I look forward too. Hence, the card for Valentine's Day! I used Fleur Anya - she is just the cutest - I colored her in my Copics and fussy cut her.

Next, I used my circle nestable and cut out the largest circle. The I used my Tim Holtz Worn Lipstick and Black Soot inks and ink my mat and wet it and dabbed my circle in the inks. I dried the circle and then added a number of stamps from the Studio G dollar bin from my LSS. I also took black card stock for the base of my card and used white embossing ink and created a background in white ink and embossing powder. I took pink nail polish and painted in a few areas from the stamps and also added some perfect pearls. Finally, I wrapped some crinkle ribbon in two colors around the top.

If you want to really be inspired by a grungy type mixed media artist - you have to check out this YouTube channel - I can't stop watching this woman and she has inspired me to start making some of my own paper! I also want to start a art journal because of her! Check it out - and head over to The Greeting Farm and play along!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Hi ya everyone!
It's my off week at Meljen's Designs this week but still wanted to share a card with you that I made. But first the challenge this week is Kraft paper with one other color (besides white). There are some sweet new images too - perfect for father's day:

All of these adorable images can be found HERE at Whimsy Stamps.
My friend Anita showed this gorgeous card on her blog a while back - click HERE...and well I fell it love with it - the white space is so gorgeous so I wanted to try my own. So I started with the sweet image from Meljen's called Tweet Heart Birds. I printed them on my white X-press It and left enough space around the image to leave for white space on my card. I then colored the sweet birds with these Copics.

Aren't they cute!? I also added a few dots with my white gel role pen too!

I added a sentiment from my Clear and Simple stamps and colored the Hello with Copics as well.

The I layered some matching cardstock. That's it!!! Love the simplicity.

This isn't as gorgeous as Anita's card - but the white space is sort of nice - don't ya think? Join our challenge at Meljen's Designs this week - and why not grab a few images too!!! If you can't afford any you should check out her FREEBIE section - she has more then anyone I know!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Hi ya everyone!
This week at the Tiddly Inks challenge blog we are challenging you to make those ever so hard to make Masculine cards - and specifically for Father's day! I decided to use the new image Lilli Claire Party Time from Tiddly Inks as she looks a lot like our youngest. Each girl makes a Father's day card for my hubs but the baby is a bit small - so I make the front and she colors the inside for her daddy. I started with my papers and chose Copics around that first.

I enjoy making backgrounds with my images and this week I stuck with a simple one and pulled colors from my image to added dots all around Lilli Claire. I also trimmed out her dress ribbon to lay on top of the sentiment.

I think when it comes to a masculine card simple is best - unless you have a lot of manly embellishments and really I don't have too many so simple was the best for me. I did add some baker's twine and a matching button.

The sentiment was generated on my computer using the Comic Sans font. Lastly, I took a black 0.2mm Copic pen and added a little doodle around the outside edge. I used my Tim Holtz Antique Linen and very lightly inked the edge of the sentiment and picture - almost forgot about that! Hey, there are adorable new manly images in the shop too! So take a look right HERE!
Looking for more Tiddly Ink Manly images for our challenge - here are a few!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Hi ya everyone!
This year at the CKC convetion I decided to take three Copic classes that were offered - mostly because I love my Copics and I don't scrapbook as often as I like. The three-part class was put on by a wonderful company called Clear and Simple Stamps. The best part about this company is they offer very simple clear stamps and then teach you how to make some of the sweetest cards. I had so much fun in this class and learned a great number of techniques and tricks. I hope to share some of what I learned. I already shared a few things in my simple Copic Coloring Tutorial. But first, I'd like to share the few cards that I made while in the class. The first two above are from Class I.

Class II - I love these cards - so simple and so sweet - it was easy to whip these out in a few for someone and they look so cute. And you start with plain paper - the rest is stamps!

Class III was a lot of fun because we got to play around with an airbrush and learn a few techniques. Did I tell you that my hubby bought me an airbrush gun for my birthday? I really haven't used it much - I have the cans for air but want to get an air compressor - I also think that my Copics are getting dry because the first time I used it - it didn't work so well =( - but if at first you don't succeed!

Which brings me to another topic - it's almost my one year anniversary of having my own blog! I really want to celebrate so look back for a few prizes in the next couples of days!! I also really want to do a week of my favorite cards in the past year!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

I love this sketch and thought I would try to use each of the new images for the release this week at Whimsy:

Oh my gosh - see why had to just use them all! LOL - I couldn't decide. With this sketch I thought a pocket card would be nice. All paper is from a Tim Holtz stack that has paper for every American holiday. I love the July fourth papers so they worked perfect for paper piecing the large heart called Stitched Swirls Heart and the Starts and Stripes Trinkets.

I colored the angel with my Copics and cut her out.

I then layered my papers sticking to the sketch and left one piece open so I could tuck the heart tag into the front of the card.

I also added some red sheer ribbon to the front with a star embellishment. I added an eyelet and baker's twine to the tag.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today and be sure to pick up some of the new images right HERE at Whimsy stamps and join the challenge at Meljen's Designs!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Hi ya everyone!
I know you know I love Some Odd Girl stamps and hubby got me a whole bunch for my birthday. I also won this adorable stamp on their rubber release week! I couldn't wait to color her. Also, this week at Make It Colorful - a new blog that I love - are having a Dotty Background Challenge. So I decided to give it a try. Here are the markers I chose:

I added white dots to her dress and a few accents with my white gel roll pen. I also used my clear Spica Pen - LOVE these - on the flowers. Here I took a picture in the sunlight so you could see how much this sparkles. I like this so much more then Stickles because it's so light weight and very translucent so you don't lose the detail of the stamp.

I used the sweet sentiment that came with the Some Odd Girl stamp as well. All the papers are from the DCWV stack Whimsical. I added a large white satin ribbon and bow.

I punched out a few flowers using my little flower punch and then added yellow pearls to the center to match the daisy's in the stamped image! Thanks for coming by today! Don't forget that on the SOG Facebook page you can win some free images if you enter your SOG projects in other challenges!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Hi ya everyone!
This week at the Tiddly Inks Challenge blog we are asking you to get inspired using this gorgeous photo that Meredith - DT member and coordinator of Tiddly Inks chose.

Isn't this gorgeous!! I love it and so I took it a bit literal! LOL - I found this ever so cute bubble bath image at Tiddly Inks called Take Me Away and she can be found HERE. I colored her in my Copics and added a bit of Stardust Stickles to her hair holder and the bubbles in the tub.

Next, I grabbed as many crinkle ribbons as I had and picked out colors that matched the curtain or as close as I could get anyhow. I took a sheet of white paper and covered it in my ATG tape. Next, I layered each ribbon from the bottom up with a scrunch sort of pattern. I then punched holes in the top and added some eyelets and then ran a bit of twine through.

I used paper from the DCWV stack called Black Current. I also used a pale pink paper from Cricut. With this I cut out a few flowers with my punches glued two together and placed a cinnamon colored pearl in the center. Oh, and that piece of brown scroll paper in the back that says relax is the paper that comes wrapped around my crinkle ribbon that I get from Prairie Bird Boutique on Etsy. I just stamped the sentiment using a clear letter set I have.
Come over to the Tiddly Inks Challenge blog and join our photo inspiration fun! Christy has put so many new and adorable stamps in the store too. Here's a sneak of just a few:

All of these and more can be found right HERE in the What's New Section!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Hi ya everyone! Today I am sharing a coloring tutorial at She's A Sassy Lady. Thanks Sheila for letting me share again today on your blog.
I've had a number of questions concerning my Copics lately and thought I would share a brief tutorial on coloring a simple image with a minimum number of markers. We all know Copics are a bit expensive. However, you definitely are paying for a great product and like other crafting products out there you get what you pay for. This is not to say that buying a cheap pack of crayola markers is a bad idea - it's actually a good place to start to see if you will enjoy coloring. So tip one - buy some inexpensive colored pencils or markers and see if you enjoy coloring. I have a feeling you'll love it - it's extremely relaxing and very portable. Ok, let's get started!

Choosing Paper and Printing - I print my image on a Laser Jet printer but you can use Ink Jet printers but you will either need special inks or a spray on sealer. Paper is another question I get often. This a personal preference as everyone will choose something a bit different. For inexpensive Georgia Pacific 110lb. paper works well and can be found at the local grocery store or bix box store. I've tried a number of other brands too but my all time favorite is X-Press it white.

Choosing an Image - You can either go digital or rubber/clear. Personally, there are appeals to both but I prefer digital images only because I don't have to worry about storage of extra crafting products and I can change the size of the image to whatever I like. For this tutorial I am using an adorable image from Tiddly Inks called June and she can be found HERE.

Choosing colors - I usually choose my marker colors as I go and then match my paper. This is backwards - but I never said I was normal =). Choosing your design paper first is a good idea because then you can match your markers. A color chart of your markers/pencils is a great idea because then it's easy to match up design paper. These are the colors I'm choosing for this image. I would normally use more for an image but I wanted to show you that you don't need every marker out there to color a cute image. Copics are numbered on the top - for example the reds I show here are from light to dark as follows: R20, R22, R24, R29. Using Copics that are in a color family is a good idea as you will see in my tutorial.

The basics for coloring are all the same. Start with a light shade, use a dark shade to add shadows, go over your dark shadows with a medium shade and go over the entire image again with the light shade. I don't always follow this rule as you will see and other wonderful artists don't either. However, it's a good rule of thumb to start.

Coloring Skin - Coloring in small circles will help you blend your colors better and will reduce streaking.

Coloring Hair - for hair I like to leave my white space in the very beginning to mark out where my hair will have some shine. I will also start adding colors in the same direction I want her hair to go. This gives the hair a more realistic look.

Please Note:

Please feel free to scrap-lift any project you see! However, I ask kindly that any recreation not be entered into any competitions or be used for profit or publication. Thank you!!email: mfc dot melissamade2 at gmail dot com